So there was some...distortion in this stitch that I really couldn't fully fix. Also had some dark lines in the sky of uneven brightness from the stitch not going well. Spose I could have fixed those, but it was frustrating lol. Instead I chopped off a great deal of the sky XD

Other than that, I love how this image came together...huge amounts of detail on the other bank of the river!

These Pelicans are...special. (splain that in a sec.) buuuut, while we do get cold winters (-40 normally around the end of Dec/-through feb) by the time the (migratory) pelicans start returning, our temperatures do not drop below -10 usually, and it gradually warms until (just yesterday actually) our latest and hopefully last drop below zero occurred (-0.4oC) and we have had temps to +25oC today haha. It gets HOT here in the summer, occasionaly almost reaching the forties. Last November we had a record time high of +10.0oC. They usually leave around September/October and head toward the southern states for the winter. I have some of the only pictures in the world actually *brags* where pelicans are on or near ice and snow.

They are American White Pelicans and they are the only species in the world that nest, live and feed on river rapids and islands. It's a very special, unique place that rests more or less on the edge of Wood Buffalo National Park. They have been, according to National Geographic in their present form for 20 million years. When you visit these places, it feels like a prehistoric tropic or something haha

Hah! I don't blame you. I plan on spending a couple more years here or so before I venture off to discover some new subjects. It will be a dream...But I spose the skeeters have taught me tolerance, I focus really well now

Very nice, love how the pinkish sky fades to a violet blue and how the water is rushing down stream and the how the ghost pelicans are enjoying themselves .You used Photoshop to stitch this together right? you ever use any other programs like PTgui or Autostich?

Thanks One thing I really did love is how the pelicans stitched. A couple of them moved out of position while I was shooting this (as fast as possible) during their little feeding frenzy, but yeah I really enjoy that part of it. Distortion may have come from the fact that my tripod wasn't perfectly level. I was being ravaged by mosquitoes >.<

Hmm not really what you have been doing in photoshop has been working great for ya. I just notice that Photoshop doesn't always work when making a panorama sometimes it dosnt wanna stitch well even if the images were shot in the same ISO, shutter speed, zoom, focus ect. Im sure you had a few shots that didnt want to stitch just right. Thats why i thought you might of had other programs for stitching like PT Gui or Autostitch.

Ill post a comparison challenge to show you what i mean out of the 3 programs photoshop PT Gui and Autostitch. Ill post the finished panorama as well.

Sounds good man. It has been working great! I'm amazed how well it autostitches most times. Star fields can present a problem, but it usually stitches the most prominent objects well in those. The photo that won the DD the other day needs a re-do, actually. In web it looks great but at 100% there's a part of the starscape that is a bit warped out and not blended well.

There are some other programs I've heard of on the EPSON pano awards site that they awarded as prizes. I plan on entering again next year, maybe I'll get lucky

That's cool I just checked out the site your talking about they have some good prizes thats for sure, wish i knew about that site sooner lol, I know I dont stand a chance with that kinda crowd since im still just a beginner photographer with only a 200mm lens and a Samsung NX-100 that snaps pics of just about anything, lol i originally wanted to get a Canon EOS 5D Mark II but im no ware near a professional grade photographer to buy a camera like that. My next camera is going to be the Canon EOS Rebel T3i since it is a lot cheaper and more for a low end photographer as myself.

It would be nice for you to win something from that site for sure, the competition on that site though sure looks tough to beat some of those panorama shots are just shock and aww on there but ill wish you luck for next year, im sure plenty of people would agree with me you deserve a prize for the pics you shoot and stitch^^

lol i didn't even realize that was you till a second look XD that's awesome dude totally deserved to place within in the top 10 for sure. There are so many good shots in there im sure the judges had a tough time deciding who was going to get each place.I guess if i get better at photography i might consider trying to enter that one day but first i need to get better...lot better^^

Thanks so much. My favorite part too! I think at 105mm any unevenness in the panning plane gets hugely exaggerated haha. Not sure what caused the uneven gradients in the sky, though...Maybe just that there was a huge range of brightness that was hard to control.